Cuomo budget to include statewide crime database

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal will include a plan to create a new statewide crime database for use by New York police agencies, according to a report.

From the Associated Press’ Michael Virtanen:

Cuomo wants to spend $10 million to help establish a new database of police information that departments across the state could share online.

An administration official said Saturday the governor will detail the initiative when he unveils his proposed state budget on Tuesday. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the proposal in advance and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The database would be intended to make it easier for state and local police to share crime information and coordinate responses across jurisdictions without having to request information and then wait for a reply.

Local authorities are expected to join the so-called New York State Protection Cloud during the next four years with collective savings estimated to reach $12 million annually.

Cloud computing refers to the ability to run a program on many connected computers, which can involve a large amount of data.

It won’t be the only funding for a database in Cuomo’s budget proposal, which will be unveiled Tuesday afternoon.

The Times Union reported Sunday that Cuomo’s budget will call for the creation of a statewide medical records database. While hospitals have moved to digital recordkeeping over the years, there is no statewide database where all the records are easily accessible; instead, the current system is split into regional hubs.